As a MARINElife surveyor based in the West Midlands, one of the pleasures of surveying is going out to sea from various ports around the country to explore different routes. So, when the opportunity arose to try a different route, from Felixstowe to Vlaardingen, I jumped at the chance. I knew this route had a key difference from others because of a lengthy section sailing up the wide Nieuwe Maas river. This river is one of a number of rivers forming a multi-channel delta as the Rhine flows out to the sea. In particular, the Nieuwe Mass, in addition to providing access to the port at Vlaardingen, also leads to the port of Rotterdam, the biggest port in the whole of Europe!

On most routes, when we reach land we stop surveying, but the Nieuwe Maas river is such an important habitat that we survey along the river as well and that’s where we really have to up our game! The density of birds along the river is such that it is hard to keep up, even at the cautious pace the ship travels along the river. It’s a case of selecting a marker on the river ahead to count up to, then picking one species at a time to tot up in the section up to that mark. Getting through all of the species in the section in time before needing to start the next section is tricky and I was glad that Carol, my senior colleague who has a lot of experience on this route, loaned me a click counter which made the task both easier and quicker. As a keen birder though, it was both challenging and a lot of fun to spot and identify everything in time.

The challenge involved is clear from the counts. Along the river, amongst the various other species were over a thousand each of Mute Swan, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Greylag Goose with many other species dotted about, some in the high hundreds. Nonetheless, with the clicker making the count easier, there was still the opportunity to enjoy seeing the many Common Tern that were feeding along the river, sometimes hovering as they homed in on prey and frequently diving to get their meal. These elegant and skilled flyers are always fun to watch, all the more so when they’re just outside your window.

Visiting a nice bird hide to watch birds is always enjoyable, but it has to be said that the bridges of ships are amongst the very best bird hides! The stunning vista almost all the way around us and the height to be able to see birds or marine mammals on the surface of the water at quite a distance make the bridges of ships truly special. So often, as in this case, the ships crews and captains take a lot of interest in what we’re up to. Since they’re spending so much of their lives at sea, they often get to know and to care greatly about the wildlife they see on their voyages too. I think the captain enjoyed seeing a Grey Seal that popped up as much as we did.

Once again, our thanks go to Captain Torben Sekjaer, the Officers and crew of the Suecia Seaways who made us so welcome and looked after us so well and made this a very enjoyable crossing.

Carol Farmer-Wright and Don Ainsworth, Research Surveyors for MARINElife (Registered Charity No. 1110884; Registered Company No. 5057367)

Weather

Outward: overcast but with good light, moderate visibility light winds and sea state 1 or 2

Return: mainly overcast but good light but cloud breaking later, good visibility, a little glare at times with light winds, sea state 2-3